A Tauranga yachtsman will not rest until someone is held to account for damages to his paper tiger catamaran.
Doug Esterman alleges his vessel was damaged while Higgins Tauranga, contracted by Tauranga City Council, were completing work on the controversial Pilot Bay Boardwalk late last year.
Tauranga yachtsman Dr Doug Esterman claims Higgins Tauranga, contracted by Tauranga City Council, damaged his paper tiger catamaran last October. Photo: David Tauranga.
Doug says his vessel had been secured on the beach but was moved, along with a number of other boats, by workers and not tied down.
Higgins firmly denies Doug's allegations.
When strong winds hit in October 2013 Doug's catamaran flipped over resulting in damage to the hull and the mast being bent, he says.
'Higgins denies moving my catamaran and I've been battling ever since. If they did not move it then fish are pretty good at riding bicycles.
'I have photographic evidence that shows if the boats had not been moved then Higgins would have been unable to do their job.”
He says Council has offered to pay $750 compensation but Doug refused saying 'it was only given to shut me up”.
Doug says repairs costs are $2687 - but he originally sought for $941 in compensation - his estimated cost of the catamaran.
Subsequently, he took TCC to the Disputes Tribunal in June, which found in favour of TCC and dismissed the claim.
He has since lodged an appeal in the Tauranga District Court and a hearing has been set for September 22.
'This will end up costing at least $1100 so win or lose it will cost both council and myself,” says Doug.
'The most annoying part is that they are not putting it back on Higgins. No building firm would pay subcontractors for bad work, they'd make them pay or withhold payment.”
Doug says he did not want to go to the Disputes Tribunal, preferring a 'please explain” meeting with Higgins, TCC and himself.
He believes moving the catamaran would have been a simple mistake and one quickly forgiven had an apology been proffered.
At the end of the day, it's the principle that matters the most to Doug.
'I am not an idiot, or a trouble maker, but know the truth when I hear it and refuse to quietly disappear.
'It is not your mistakes that define you but your actions subsequent to those mistakes that do.”
SunLive has contacted both the Tauranga City Council and Higgins Tauranga for comment on this story.
As the matter was now before the District Court neither organisation was able to make a comment.
4 comments
Why did Council offer compensation?
Posted on 05-09-2014 11:34 | By Annalist
Why on earth did the Council that uses my rates money offer $750, partly funded by me, to pay for this? Can I leave my property on public reserves and if it gets lost, stolen or damaged, will Council offer me compensation??? Hmmmm
Choices
Posted on 05-09-2014 12:47 | By Andrew B
You chose to leave your yacht on a public reserve at your risk.You said knew it was in the way of the the work being done on the boardwalk. Why didn't you go and move it yourself so no damage was done to it? I would hope your insurance company should help you out, not us ratepayers. Not our problem. If someone damages my car while it's parked on a Council reserve , I wouldn't expect the Council to help, I'd call my insurance company. I'm glad the Disputes Tribunal made the right choice.
Duty of Care
Posted on 05-09-2014 13:02 | By Bill Gibson-Patmore
In reply to"Annalist", I have a feeling that property which you might leave lying around, and the boats dry-landed at Pilot Bay are two different things. I believe there may have been at the very least an understanding between boat owners and Council that it was accepted and appropriate for small boats to be dry-laded at the bay. This understanding has been further entrenched by Council, as part of the beautification plan, when they installed boat-racks. So, with that agreed use of public amenity space comes a "Duty of Reasonable Care" If the damage was caused by vandals, or weather events that should have been foreseen by the boat owner, there would be no Council liability. However, if the damage was caused by actions or inactions of Council or its Contractors the owner should have a case. Q. is against which entity? Bill Gibson-Patmore
paper
Posted on 05-09-2014 17:24 | By Wonkytonk
paper, well what do you expect...
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